How to manage alcohol consumption in winegrowing areas?

I admit that I don’t really feel competent to answer it myself, but I am convinced that the question is important. I don’t drink alcohol without making it a religion. I had the chance to be part of the founding board of Addiction Suisse and discovered the remarkable awareness and prevention work of organizations like GREA, the Blue Cross and many others.

At the same time, I lived at the foot of the vineyards of Marie-Thérèse Chappaz, whom I visited to drink a glass of orange juice (not really better for your health) while listening to her talk about her art. And what about the incredible Granges family, in Fully, and their biodynamics, or even the winegrowers of Lavaux, who are true artists?

But, always in the same life, I listened to and welcomed victims of alcoholism in my radio broadcasts, and in particular in the “Heart Line”. I admire the courage of those who fight this illness and also of those close to them who often experience hell in the face of denial or relapses.

It is also true that addressing this subject in Switzerland is not easy. We have a soon-to-be ex-president who asserts peremptorily: “We cannot force people to drink if they do not want to drink, even if I would like them to drink more”. A country where it is difficult to imagine partying without alcohol, imagining the Valais fair with apple juice would not really be the Valais fair. It is also difficult to suggest limiting alcohol consumption in the difficult context that winegrowers are experiencing today.

So how can we reconcile these realities and find a truly Swiss consensus? I ask us the question and I finally give the floor to a winegrower friend with whom I recently had a drink, water for me and Chasselas for him: “In your show, tell them that if they don’t drink less, they could drink better.” And that too is a question.

What does it mean to drink better? For me it will be without gas, for water, of course.

Valérie Ogier and Jean-Marc Richard give the floor to listeners, Monday to Friday from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m., on LFM.